


The Sweetest Stowaway

by Meatball42



Series: Rare Pairs [143]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cat Daddies, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Undercover Missions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-04
Updated: 2020-01-04
Packaged: 2021-02-22 15:55:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,031
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22118434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: The undercover mission is going well, until an unexpected party butts in.
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Sam Wilson
Series: Rare Pairs [143]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/365729
Comments: 3
Kudos: 29
Collections: SamSteve Small Gifts





	The Sweetest Stowaway

**Author's Note:**

  * For [vassalady](https://archiveofourown.org/users/vassalady/gifts).



> Thanks to elijah_was_a_prophet for reading this over!

Steve stood tall and still, stony-faced, glaring at the bad guys gathered in the warehouse. He felt a little naked in garden-variety Kevlar and a leather jacket, but he felt worse for Sam, who didn’t even have the Kevlar.

Sam was running point on this mission, playing the businessman to Steve’s bodyguard. The men he was talking to were Hydra, here to purchase a stolen shipment of Stark weapons. This branch of Hydra was running as an off-shoot of the local mafia, laundering money for the darker side of Hydra’s operations. The Avengers had been looking for an in for a while, now. This sale had to go perfectly.

The other side’s top guy was sharp, paying attention to Sam’s spiel and asking smart questions about the weapons and how Sam had got ahold of them. They’d planned out the cover story, and Sam was good at improvising, or else it might have ended badly. But the enforcers were too relaxed.

Steve’s eyes narrowed slightly. One of the other bodyguards looked like he was about to fall asleep. Their intel indicated that some of them didn’t know they were really working for Hydra, but he was still surprised they could get away with such low standards in the arms trade.

And then, there was a screech, and the inattentive minions were suddenly wide awake.

“The hell was that?” one of them muttered. He squeezed the grip of his oversized gun in a way that made Steve worry he’d shoot by mistake.

“What do we have here?” said the man Sam was talking to. He reached down into the crate of grenades gingerly.

Steve could tell by the way Sam’s shoulders squared that this wasn’t going to be good.

The bad guy pulled a dark tabby cat out from between rows of deadly Stark weaponry. It scrabbled at his leather-clad arm, hissing.

_ Muffin! _ Steve screamed internally.

“What a pretty cat,” the man said mildly. Then he looked up at Sam, and his eyes had a shadow of crazy in them, the way all of Hydra true believers did. “Didn’t you say this shipment had been stored in your warehouse, untouched, for a year? This one looks well-fed.”

Steve depressed the panic button in his the cuff of his jacket. His heart pounded.

Sam kept his cool. “Probably a rat-catcher. They can get into anywhere.”

“I don’t think so,” said their target, and waved to his men.

They raised their weapons and fired just as the other Avengers burst in.

Steve was faster than the Hydra goons. He took two bullets in his vest, and caught one more in the shoulder when he wrapped himself around Sam and brought them both to the ground. Sam, in turn, was curled around Muffin, shielding the feline with his own body.

Sam was unhurt, and so was Muffin.

The scene on the QuinJet after all the Hydra associates were arrested and turned over to SHIELD was light-hearted, despite the blood still oozing from Steve’s wound. Clint and Natasha bantered with Steve while Bruce stitched him up, and Sam held Muffin in the seat beside Steve. They all took turns scolding the kitty for sneaking into the mission with them.

“You’re don’t have clearance for Avengers missions,” Clint lectured sternly. “You have to be Level Eight certified.”

“You don’t even have a disguise,” Sam chastised the cat, missing the mark of stern and heading more into ‘you’re so cute, yes you are,’ territory. He stroked Muffin’s back in a way that was not very punishing at all.

“What’s his punishment going to be?” Natasha asked, grinning. “No treats for a week?”

Sam and Steve looked at each other.

“Well… he had a pretty big scare today, don’t you think?” Steve asked.

They all looked at the tabby, who was curled up in Sam’s lap, purring and chewing drowsily on Steve’s leather sleeve that had to be cut off his body.

“I think he’s learned his lesson,” agreed Sam.

Clint, Natasha, and even Bruce laughed at them.

“He’s got you both whipped!” Clint heckled.

Sam covered the cat’s ears and mock-glared at the archer. “He’s trying to sleep,” he chided.

Clint snorted, but Natasha shushed him, teasing. “Muffin helped us complete our mission today, show some respect.”

They all laughed at that, but then actually did quiet down as the QuinJet revved up in advance of take-off.

Steve laid his head on Sam’s shoulder, careful with his newly-bandaged arm, and drifted off along with Muffin as they flew away.

  
  


It was late night by the time the three of them got back home. Steve’s arm was still in a sling, though he’d be healed up by morning. Sam carried his own bag with his change of clothes as well as Steve’s, which, judging by the tabby hairs caught in the zipper, explained how Muffin had stowed along with them today.

The cat of the hour himself was riding on Sam’s shoulder (his favorite spot except when Redwing was occupying it) and jumped down as soon as they crossed the threshold.

“You want a shower?” Sam asked his partner. He tossed their bags by the closet, to be dealt with the next day. They were both too exhausted to deal with laundry and putting gear away right after a mission.

“No,” Steve said. He leaned into Sam from behind, burying his face in Sam’s neck, and sighed. “I want to go to bed.”

Sam turned around, a sultry smile already growing on his face, but when he saw that Steve’s eyes were closed and his head drooping, the smile softened.

“Go on and get ready for sleep. I’ll heat something up and you can eat it in bed.”

Steve smiled, his eyes barely open, and kissed Sam’s cheek. “Thanks. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

When Sam came into the bedroom with a bowl of soup and a sandwich, he found that Steve was already asleep, under the covers with Muffin dozing on his chest.

Sam took a picture on his phone and saved it as his new background. Then he ate the dinner himself, his eyelids already drooping, and joined his little family in bed for the night.


End file.
